SLANG An everchanging set of COLLOQUIAL words and phrases
generally considered distinct from and socially lower than the standard
language. Slang is used to establish or reinforce social identity and
cohesiveness, especially within a group or with a trend or fashion in society
at large. It occurs in all languages, and the existence of a short-lived
vocabulary of this sort within a language is probably as old as language
itself. In its earliest occurrences in the 18c, the word slang referred to the
specialized vocabulary of underworld groups and was used fairly interchangeably
with CANT, flash, ARGOT.
Defining slang
The word is widely used without precision, especially to
include informal usage and technical JARGON, and the social and psychological
complexities captured in slang vocabulary make the term difficult to define.
For linguistic purposes, slang must be distinguished from such other subsets of
the lexicon as regionalisms or dialect words, jargon, profanity or vulgarity,
COLLOQUIALISM, cant, and argot, although slang shares some characteristics with
each of these. It is not geographically restricted (like BrE lift, AmE
elevator), but is often regional (BrE bloke, AmE guy). It is not jargon
(vocabulary used in carrying out a trade or profession), but it frequently
arises inside groups united by their work.
Although slang synonyms abound in the taboo subjects of a
culture, not all slang terms violate social propriety; Mickey Mouse meaning
‘easy’ and dough for ‘money’ may be inappropriate in some contexts, but they
are not usually offensive. Slang belongs to the spoken part of language, but
not all colloquial expressions are slang: shut up for ‘be quiet’ would rarely
be written except in dialogue, but it is not slang, which is often the usage of
the young, the alienated, and those who see themselves as distinct from the
rest of society.
Transience
Despite the difficulty of defining the term, slang does have
some consistent characteristics. Foremost, taken as a whole, the slang
vocabulary of a language is ephemeral, bursting into existence and falling out
of use at a much more rapid rate than items of the general vocabulary. This
rapid change requires a constant supply of new words, sometimes replacing or
adding to already established slang words, like a waste case for a ‘drunk’, and
sometimes extending to new areas of meaning, like jambox, ghetto blaster, or
Brixton suitcase for a portable stereo tape player. This makes novelty, or
innovation, an often cited characteristic of slang and freshness a large part
of its appeal. Yet some slang items have long lives. Thus, bones as slang for
dice was used by Chaucer in the 14c and is still slang. But when such items
remain in the language for years, they often lose their slang status: for
example, jeopardy from gambling and crestfallen from cockfighting have even
acquired a learned tinge.
Sounds
Although, for the most part, slang items conform to the
general constraints on sound combinations that govern English, the venturesome
spirit behind much slang includes playing with sounds. Onomatopoeia accounts
for many slang terms, including these for ‘vomit’: barf, ralph. The American
linguist Roger Wescott has noticed that some sounds appear to give words a
slangier flavour, most noticeably: z, in words like scuz from ‘scum’, and zap
from ‘slap’ or ‘whap’; the replacement or addition of a vowel with oo, in words
like bazooms from ‘bosom’ and smasheroo from ‘smasher’. Rhyming, however, is
the favourite sound effect of slang, as in boob tube television, frat rat
member of a US college fraternity. The rhymers par excellence have been the
Cockneys of London, who have developed an elaborate and colourful collection of
slang terms based on rhyme, such as trouble and strife for ‘wife’ and mince
pies for ‘eyes’. See COCKNEY.
Semantics
The intricate interplay of exclusivity, faddishness, and
flippancy which breeds and supports slang guarantees semantic and etymological
complexity. Nevertheless, slang items often diverge from standard usage in
predictable ways, especially by generalization and melioration. In
generalization, a term acquires a wider range of referents: for example, in the
19c dude was ‘a dapper man, a dandy’ but in current US slang, via Black usage,
it can be applied to any male. Schiz out is to have any kind of mental or
emotional breakdown; it is not restricted to schizophrenia. Evaluative words in
slang sometimes become so generalized in application that they lose specific
meaning and retain only a value: for example, AmE awesome, heavy, key, and
solid, BrE ace, brill, and triff, and def in both varieties, all mean ‘worthy
of approval’. Generalization often operates in conjunction with melioration, a
process in which the connotations of a word become more favourable. Many words
enter general slang from the taboo words of subcultures. Through increased use
and broad application, they can lose their shock value and become more
positive; the verb jam a century ago had specific sexual referents, but now
means ‘to dance, play music, have a good time, succeed’. Yet many words in
slang remain negative, especially the large and constantly replenished set of
epithets available at all time in slang: for example, the pejorative boob,
dork, dweeb, jerk, nerd, scuzbag, slimeball, wimp.
Another characteristic of the semantics of slang is the
tendency to name things indirectly and figuratively, especially through
metaphor, metonymy, and irony. Couch potato one who lies around doing little
except watch television, coffin nail a cigarette, are metaphors. Brew and chill
(beer) take their meaning by association and are metonyms. Irony, in its
simplest form, categorizes the tendency in slang for words to evoke opposite
meanings: bad, wicked, killer can all mean ‘good’ when signalled with
appropriate ironic intonation. The influence of semantic fields on productivity
in slang is also important, as they provide an established framework to shape
the form and meaning of new words. In English, the semantic field ‘destruction’
sets the pattern for the proliferation of terms for being drunk, such as
blitzed, bombed, fried, hammered, polluted, ripped, slammed, smashed, toasted,
wasted. Slang also often evokes meaning by drawing on the shared cultural
knowledge of its users. The verb bogart (to take an unfair share, originally of
a marijuana cigarette) alludes to the American actor Humphrey Bogart's
tough-guy image in films.
Functions
The aim of using slang is seldom the exchange of
information. More often, slang serves social purposes: to identify members of a
group, to change the level of discourse in the direction of informality, to
oppose established authority. Sharing and maintaining a constantly changing
slang vocabulary aids group solidarity and serves to include and exclude
members. Slang is the linguistic equivalent of fashion and serves much the same
purpose. Like stylish clothing and modes of popular entertainment, effective
slang must be new, appealing, and able to gain acceptance in a group quickly.
Nothing is more damaging to status in the group than using old slang.
Counterculture or counter-establishment groups often find a common vocabulary
unknown outside the group a useful way to keep information secret or
mysterious. Slang is typically cultivated among people in society who have
little real political power (like adolescents, college students, and enlisted
personnel in the military) or who have reason to hide from people in authority
what they know or do (like gamblers, drug addicts, and prisoners).
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